dam

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word dam. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word dam, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say dam in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word dam you have here. The definition of the word dam will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdam, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Appendix:Variations of "dam"

Translingual

 dam (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Symbol

dam

  1. (metrology) Symbol for decameter (decametre), an SI unit of length equal to 101 meters (metres).

English

A dam.

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle English dam, from Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

  1. A structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding.
    A dam is often an essential source of water to farmers of hilly country.
    • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad‎:
      Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins […]
    • 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
      Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
  2. The water reservoir resulting from placing such a structure.
    Boats may only be used at places set aside for boating on the dam.
  3. (dentistry) A device to prevent a tooth from getting wet during dental work, consisting of a rubber sheet held with a band.
  4. (South Africa, Australia) A reservoir.
  5. A firebrick wall, or a stone, which forms the front of the hearth of a blast furnace.
Derived terms
Translations
structure placed across a flowing body of water

Verb

dam (third-person singular simple present dams, present participle damming, simple past and past participle dammed)

  1. (transitive) To block the flow of water.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

Variant of dame. Doublet of domina and donna.

Noun

dam (plural dams)

  2. Female parent, mother, generally regarding breeding of animals.
  3. A kind of crowned piece in the game of draughts.
Coordinate terms
Translations

Etymology 3

Said to be possibly coined from the English phrase "I don't give a dam(n)," referring to its small worth.

Noun

dam (plural dams) (historical)

  1. (India) An obsolete Indian copper coin, equal to a fortieth of a rupee.
    • 1839, William Holloway, A General Dictionary of Provincialisms, Written with a View to Rescue from Oblivion the Fast Fading Relics of By-gone Days, Lewes, East Sussex: Sussex Press: Printed and published by Baxter and Son, →OCLC, page 42:
      […] A small Indian coin; whence comes the saying "I don't care a dam for you," that is I don't value you a farthing, and not as generally given, "I don't care a damn" or a "curse for you." [Possibly a folk etymology.]
  2. A former coin of Nepal, 128 of which were worth one mohar.

References

  1. ^ Gorrell, Robert, Watch Your Language: Mother Tongue and Her Wayward Children, University of Nevada Press, 1994

Etymology 4

Clipping or Pronunciation spelling of damn.

Alternative forms

Interjection

dam

  1. (slang or pronunciation spelling) Damn.

Adjective

dam (not comparable)

  1. (slang or pronunciation spelling) Damn.
    • 2020, Jacie Rowe III, White Lies, Black Truth, The Lost Light, page 196:
      Do not get too caught up in individual campism. The Most-High sent your spirits back on earth to fix yourselves, come together and wake up our people, so do your dam job and stop letting your fleshly desires control you.

Further reading

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch dam, from Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Pronunciation

Noun

dam (plural damme)

  1. pond, basin
  2. dam

Derived terms

Arem

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ɗam, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *p(ɗ)am; cognate with Vietnamese năm.

Pronunciation

Numeral

dam

  1. five

Further reading

Azerbaijani

yaşıl dam
green roof

Etymology

From Old Anatolian Turkish طام (d̥am, dam), from Proto-Turkic *tām. as for meaning a trap, from Persian دام.

Pronunciation

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof
  2. hovel, shack
  3. dugout
  4. cowshed, sheep cote (a structure where animals are held)
    donuz damı ― pigsty
  5. (figurative) lockup, jail, quod
    dama basdırmaq ― to lock up, to put in jail
  6. (archaic) grid, net
  7. (archaic) trap, snare
    Synonyms: tələ, cələ, duzaq
    dam qurmaq ― to set a trap

Declension

    Declension of dam
singular plural
nominative dam
 damlar
definite accusative damı
 damları
dative dama
 damlara
locative damda
 damlarda
ablative damdan
 damlardan
definite genitive damın
 damların
    Possessive forms of dam
nominative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damım damlarım
sənin (“your”) damın damların
onun (“his/her/its”) damı damları
bizim (“our”) damımız damlarımız
sizin (“your”) damınız damlarınız
onların (“their”) damı or damları damları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımı damlarımı
sənin (“your”) damını damlarını
onun (“his/her/its”) damını damlarını
bizim (“our”) damımızı damlarımızı
sizin (“your”) damınızı damlarınızı
onların (“their”) damını or damlarını damlarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damıma damlarıma
sənin (“your”) damına damlarına
onun (“his/her/its”) damına damlarına
bizim (“our”) damımıza damlarımıza
sizin (“your”) damınıza damlarınıza
onların (“their”) damına or damlarına damlarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımda damlarımda
sənin (“your”) damında damlarında
onun (“his/her/its”) damında damlarında
bizim (“our”) damımızda damlarımızda
sizin (“your”) damınızda damlarınızda
onların (“their”) damında or damlarında damlarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımdan damlarımdan
sənin (“your”) damından damlarından
onun (“his/her/its”) damından damlarından
bizim (“our”) damımızdan damlarımızdan
sizin (“your”) damınızdan damlarınızdan
onların (“their”) damından or damlarından damlarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (“my”) damımın damlarımın
sənin (“your”) damının damlarının
onun (“his/her/its”) damının damlarının
bizim (“our”) damımızın damlarımızın
sizin (“your”) damınızın damlarınızın
onların (“their”) damının or damlarının damlarının

Cebuano

Etymology

From English dam, from Middle English dam, damme, from Old English *dam, *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam

  1. a dam; a structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow
  2. a reservoir

Crimean Tatar

Noun

dam (accusative , plural )

  1. stable
  2. roof
  3. taste

Declension

Declension of dam
nominative dam
genitive damnıñ
dative damğa
accusative damnı
locative damda
ablative damdan

Synonyms

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse dammr (“dam”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite damme)

  1. pond
  2. corf, livewell (for storage of live fish under water)
Inflection
Declension of dam
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative dam dammen damme dammene
genitive dams dammens dammes dammenes
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French jeu de dames (“draughts”).

Noun

dam c or n

  1. draughts, checkers

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French dame (“lady”).

Noun

dam c (singular definite dammen, plural indefinite dammer)

  1. king (superior piece in draughts)
Inflection
Declension of dam
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative dam dammen dammer dammerne
genitive dams dammens dammers dammernes

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-West Germanic *damm, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam m (plural dammen, diminutive dammetje n)

  1. dam
Derived terms

- general:

- toponyms:

Descendants
  • Afrikaans: dam
  • → Caribbean Hindustani: dám
  • → Indonesian: dam (“dam”)
  • → Papiamentu: dam
  • → Saramaccan: dan
  • → Sranan Tongo: dan, dam
    • → Caribbean Javanese: dham

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle French dame, from Spanish dama.

Noun

dam f (plural dammen)

  1. (checkers) king (double draught/checker)
Related terms
Descendants
  • → Indonesian: dam (“draught/checker(s)”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

dam

  1. inflection of dammen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

French

Etymology

Inherited from Latin damnum.

Pronunciation

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

  1. (obsolete except in phrases) damage
  2. (religion) damnation

Derived terms

Related terms

References

  1. ^ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “damnum”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 3: D–F, page 11

Further reading

Anagrams

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin damnum.

Noun

dam m (plural dams)

  1. damage

Synonyms

Related terms

Galician

Verb

dam

  1. (reintegrationist norm) third-person plural present indicative of dar

Garo

Etymology

Borrowed from Bengali দাম (dam).

Noun

dam

  1. price

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Dutch dam (“king (draught/checkers)”), from Middle French dame, from Old French dame, from Latin domina.

Noun

dam (first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (games) draught (American), checkers (British).
  2. checker, a pattern of alternating colours as on a chessboard.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Dutch dam (“dam”), from Middle Dutch dam, from Old Dutch dam, from Proto-Germanic *dammaz.

Noun

dam (first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. dam, a structure placed across a flowing body of water to stop the flow or part of the flow, generally for purposes such as retaining or diverting some of the water or retarding the release of accumulated water to avoid abrupt flooding.
Synonyms

Compounds

Etymology 3

From Arabic دَم (dam, “blood”), from Proto-Semitic *dam-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *dam-.

Noun

dam (first-person possessive damku, second-person possessive dammu, third-person possessive damnya)

  1. (Islam) fine, a punishment for breaking the law.

Further reading

Irish

Pronoun

dam (emphatic damsa)

  1. Alternative form of dom (“for/to me”)

Komo

Noun

dam

  1. honey

Lashi

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *l-(t/d)jam (“full, flat”).

Pronunciation

Adjective

dam

  1. flat

References

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎, Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Malay

Pronunciation

Noun

dam (Jawi spelling دم, plural dam-dam, informal 1st possessive damku, 2nd possessive dammu, 3rd possessive damnya)

  1. draughts; checkers (two-player board game).

Further reading

Maltese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Root
d-w-m
15 terms

From Arabic دَامَ (dāma).

Verb

dam (imperfect jdum, verbal noun dewm or dewmien or dawmien)

  1. to last; to take (time, especially long time)
    Synonym: (imperfect only) jtul
    Alternative form: diem
Conjugation
    Conjugation of dam
singular plural
1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
perfect m domt domt dam domna domtu damu
f damet
imperfect m ndum ddum jdum ndumu ddumu jdumu
f ddum
imperative dum dumu

Etymology 2

From Arabic إِدَام (ʔidām).

Noun

dam m

  1. tallow

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English *damm, from Proto-West Germanic *damm.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

dam

  1. dam (structure to block water)
  2. body of water
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

Noun

dam

  1. Alternative form of dame

Etymology 3

Noun

dam

  1. (when preceding labials) Alternative form of dan

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish dam.

Pronunciation

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 1000, Anonymous, published in (1935) Rudolf Thurneysen, editor, Scéla Mucca Meic Dathó (in Middle Irish), Dublin: Staionery Office, § 1, l. 12, page 2: “Dam ocus tinne in cach coiri. ― an ox and a side of bacon in each cauldron.”

Descendants

Mutation

Middle Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Nasalization
dam dam
pronounced with /ð(ʲ)-/, later /ɣ(ʲ)-/		 ndam
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

Mokilese

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *saman (“outrigger”), from Proto-Austronesian *saʀman (“outrigger”)

Pronunciation

Noun

dam

  1. (nautical) outrigger

Possessive forms

Possessive forms of dam (third person singular only)
singular third person possessor dame
construct form damen

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology 1

From Danish dam, from Old Norse dammr m, damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German .

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammer, definite plural dammene)

  1. a pond
  2. a dam (structure)
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammer, definite plural dammene)

  1. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology 1

From Middle Norwegian dammr m, from Old Norse damm n. The meaning dam (structure) probably comes from Middle Low German .

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammar, definite plural dammane)

  1. a pond
  2. a dam (structure)
Synonyms

Etymology 2

From French jeu de dames.

Noun

dam m (definite singular dammen, indefinite plural dammar, definite plural dammane)

  1. the game of checkers (US) or draughts (UK)

References

Occitan

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adverb

dam

  1. (Gascony) (accompaniment) with
    Cada an, que pujava peth Mont Valièr amont, dam eras vacas, nà amontanhar.
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Old Irish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *damos, from Proto-Indo-European *dm̥h₂-ó- (“bull”) (compare Albanian dem (“bullock”), Ancient Greek δάμαλος (dámalos, “calf”)), from *demh₂- (“to tame”) (compare Old Irish daimid (“to allow, give in”), Latin domō, English tame).

Noun

dam m (genitive daim)

  1. ox
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 10d6
      .i. do·fuáircc .i. ar is bés leosom in daim do thúarcuin ind arbe
      Which tramples, i.e. for it is custom among them to have the oxen trample on the corn.
  2. stag
  3. (by extension) hero, champion
Declension
Masculine o-stem
Singular Dual Plural
Nominative dam damL daimL, doim
Vocative daim, doim damL daumuH, dumu, damu
Accusative damN damL daumuH, dumu, damu
Genitive daimL, doim dam damN
Dative daumL, dum, dam damaib damaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization
Derived terms
Descendants

Noun

dam f

  1. hind, cow (old feminine form of previous)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

dam

  1. inflection of daimid:
    1. first-person singular present subjunctive conjunct
    2. second-person singular imperative

·dam

  1. third-person singular present indicative conjunct of daimid

Etymology 3

Pronoun

dam

  1. Alternative form of dom (“to/for me”)

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Nasalization
dam dam
pronounced with /ð(ʲ)-/ 		ndam
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

Polish

Pronunciation

Verb

dam

  1. first-person singular future of dać

Noun

dam

  1. genitive plural of dama

Rohingya

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Magadhi Prakrit 𑀤𑀫𑁆𑀫 (damma), from Sanskrit দ্ৰম্ম (drámma), borrowed from Ancient Greek δραχμή (drakhmḗ). Cognate with Bengali দাম (dam).

Noun

dam (Hanifi spelling 𐴊𐴝𐴔𐴢)

  1. price
    Synonyms: dor, kimot

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دام (dam), from Old Turkic (tam), from Proto-Turkic *tām.

Noun

dam n (plural damuri)

  1. cowshed

Declension

Declension of dam
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) dam damul (niște) damuri damurile
genitive/dative (unui) dam damului (unor) damuri damurilor
vocative damule damurilor

San Juan Guelavía Zapotec

Noun

dam

  1. owl

References

  • López Antonio, Joaquín, Jones, Ted, Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎ (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 14, 23, 40

Sumerian

Romanization

dam

  1. Romanization of 𒁮 (dam)

Swedish

Etymology

From French dame.

Pronunciation

Noun

dam c

  1. a lady, a woman
  2. (card games, chess, checkers) a queen
    ruter dam ― queen of diamonds

Declension

Declension of dam 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative dam damen damer damerna
Genitive dams damens damers damernas

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

Chess pieces in Swedish · schackpjäser (schack + pjäser) (layout · text)
♚ ♛ ♜ ♝ ♞ ♟
kung dam, drottning torn löpare springare, häst bonde
Playing cards in Swedish · kort (layout · text)
ess, äss tvåa, två trea, tre fyra femma, fem sexa, sex sjua, sju
åtta nia, nio tia, tio knekt dam, drottning kung joker

References

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish طام (dam), from Old Turkic (tam), from Proto-Turkic *tām. Cognate with Uyghur تام (tam, “wall”).

Compare Korean 담 (dam, “wall”). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

Noun

dam (definite accusative damı, plural damlar)

  1. roof
  2. cowshed, sheep cote (a structure where animals are held)
    • 2005, Teoman Ergül, İşgal: "Padişah Efendimizin konukları" (İnkılâp Kitabevi Yayınları)‎, İnkılâp, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 281:
      ... damdaki hayvanlar huysuzlaştılar . Bir ara dayıbaşının öksürüğünü yanlarında duydular , alelacele otların arkasında saklandılar . Hüsmen onları görmedi . Hayvanların yerinde olduğunu görünce , kafasını iki yana sallayarak çekip gitti ...
      ... the animals in the cote became grumpy. At one point, they heard the uncle's cough next to them, and they hurriedly hid behind the grass. Husmen did not see them. When he saw that the animals were in place, he shook his head and walked away...
  3. (figurative, informal) lockup, jail
    • 2005 June 1, Prof. Dr. Gürsel Aytaç, Edebiyat yazıları 1 (Ed. dizisi)‎, Gündoğan Yayınları, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 61:
      ... dama tıktılar, mapus damına tıktılaaar!.. Yetiş!..» diye avaz avaz bağırmış, sonra da yaşlı kadının güven veren kollarına düşmüş bayılmışçasına kendinden geçmiş, dalgın, mutlu, tam attmı ahırdan çıkarmıştı ki, kapı çalındı. Kapı ...
      They put him in the can, they put him in the slammer!.. Come on!.. " he shouted at the top of his voice, and then he fell into the reassuring arms of the old woman, ecstatic, pensive, happy, as if he had fainted. He had just taken his horse out of the stable when there was a knock on the door.

Uzbek

Noun

dam (plural damlar)

  1. moment, second

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *k-taːm; ultimately from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kt₁aam (“crab”). ‹d› here is the result of lenition (Proto-Vietic *k-t- > Middle Vietnamese ‹d› /ð/ > Modern Vietnamese ‹d›). Compare đam, the form with unlenited initial consonant.

Pronunciation

Noun

(classifier con) dam

  1. (North Central Vietnam) field crab; freshwater crab
    Dù ai béo bạo như tru,
    Về đất Kẻ Ngù cũng tóm như dam
    Ai mà gầy tóm như dam
    Về đất nhà Chàng, cũng béo như tru
    Whosoever as fat and ferocious as the buffalo,
    when coming to Kẻ Ngù, they'll be as lean as the crab.
    Whosoever as lean as the crab,
    when coming home to Chàng, they'll be as fat as the buffalo

Zoogocho Zapotec

Noun

dam

  1. owl

References

  • Long C., Rebecca, Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎ (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 215
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia